Sometimes, MDS experiences come full circle. This was the case for Deb and John* (in red jackets), who were introduced to MDS in 2008 when John was invited to volunteer on an MDS assignment in New Orleans, Louisiana. He “caught the bug” and participated in three more assignments in the years following. Fast forward to 2025 and the couple is unexpectedly served by a local MDS crew after a spring ice storm hits their central Ontario community. “It was music to our ears, those chainsaws,” said Deb. “We celebrated how God created such a great surprise… being a full circle with MDS for us. A blessing that came back to us.” The Ontario Unit responded to a severe ice storm, that hit central and southern parts of the province on March 30, at the request of Emergency Management Ontario. MDS response organizers later added cleanup projects identified by local churches. Crews of five to eight volunteers helped municipalities clear branches and trees from roads and on 12 home properties, including Deb and John's, over the week following the storm. Read the full story at mds.org #MDSResponds (fb)

(written by Rachel Horst) Several weeks before we left for our assignment in Merced, California, we had a realization. Between state and national MDS projects, this would be our 60th assignment! Don’s first time serving with MDS was helping clean up after the Big Thompson Canyon Flood in 1976. When the time came for the group he had traveled with to return home, the director asked him to stay on to give continuity to the contacts that had been made. It was a tough decision: self employed, he had flexibility in his schedule. But he also had a wife and three-year-old daughter at home. We worked it out. Don stayed to help and Liz and I drove to Colorado to spend a week with him in Estes Park. That flash flood killed 144 people and brought our family into the world of service. Read the full story via the link! #MDSResponds #RespondRebuildRestore #MennoniteDisasterService (fb)